2 February 2010

A different way to get results in Google

I've recently learnt that Google is restricting the results of searches for web designers and (perhaps more particularly, and pointedly) for SEO experts.

SEO = Search Engine Optimization. This can sometimes mean "trying to fool the search engines to reach your site by un-google-approved means". These methods are called "black hat" and are considered "search engine spam" by Google and other search engines. Me, too. The google-acceptable method is basically to understand what the search engines are doing and, without taking your focus away from your audience, make sure the search engines find your site for appropriate search terms.

Now, what I would normally tell people who are new to using search engines to find websites, would be to ignore the definite and indefinite articles (the and a) and non-specific filler words such as pronouns; on, in, at, by, etc.

However, because of this new anti-SEO algorithm presently operated by Google, if you now search for    web designer woodbridge   you will find different results than if you search for   web designer in woodbridge.

Whereas I would normally omit the "in" from a search, if you are looking for any business "in" a particular town, it seems like a good idea to include "in" in the search!